command-status"> Old (apus/plugin-sdk/command-auth): buildCommandsMessage, buildCommandsMessagePaginated, buildHelpMessage.

**New (`apus/plugin-sdk/command-status`)**: same signatures, imported
from the narrower subpath. The `command-auth` compatibility re-exports
have been removed.

```typescript
// Before
import { buildHelpMessage } from "apus/plugin-sdk/command-auth";

// After
import { buildHelpMessage } from "apus/plugin-sdk/command-status";
```

resolveInboundMentionDecision"> Old: resolveMentionGating(params) and resolveMentionGatingWithBypass(params) from apus/plugin-sdk/channel-inbound or apus/plugin-sdk/channel-mention-gating.

**New**: `resolveInboundMentionDecision({ facts, policy })` - one decision
object instead of two split call shapes.

Adopted across Discord, iMessage, Matrix, MS Teams, QQBot, Signal,
Telegram, WhatsApp, and Zalo. Slack's own `app_mention` event model does
not use this helper.

`apus/plugin-sdk/channel-runtime` has been removed. Use
`apus/plugin-sdk/channel-runtime-context` for registering runtime
objects.

The native message schema helpers in `apus/plugin-sdk/channel-actions`
were removed alongside raw "actions" channel exports. Expose capabilities
through the semantic `presentation` surface instead - channel plugins
declare what they render (cards, buttons, selects) rather than which raw
action names they accept.

createTool() on the plugin"> Old: tool() factory from apus/plugin-sdk/provider-web-search.

**New**: implement `createTool(...)` directly on the provider plugin.
Apus no longer needs the SDK helper to register the tool wrapper.

BodyForAgent"> Old: api.runtime.channel.reply.formatInboundEnvelope(...) (and the channelEnvelope field on inbound message objects) to build a flat plaintext prompt envelope from inbound channel messages.

**New**: `BodyForAgent` plus structured user-context blocks. Channel
plugins attach routing metadata (thread, topic, reply-to, reactions) as
typed fields instead of concatenating them into a prompt string. The
`formatAgentEnvelope(...)` helper is still supported for synthesized
assistant-facing envelopes, but inbound plaintext envelopes are on the way
out.

Affected areas: `inbound_claim`, `message_received`, and any custom
channel plugin that post-processed the old envelope text.

core thread binding"> Old: api.on("subagent_spawning", handler) returning threadBindingReady or deliveryOrigin.

**New**: let core prepare `thread: true` subagent bindings through the
channel session-binding adapter. Use `api.on("subagent_spawned", handler)`
only for post-launch observation.

```typescript
// Before
api.on("subagent_spawning", async () => ({
  status: "ok",
  threadBindingReady: true,
  deliveryOrigin: { channel: "discord", to: "channel:123", threadId: "456" },
}));

// After
api.on("subagent_spawned", async (event) => {
  await observeSubagentLaunch(event);
});
```

The `subagent_spawning` hook and its event/result types were removed in
August 2026 after thread binding moved to the core session-binding path.

provider catalog types"> Four discovery type aliases are now thin wrappers over the catalog-era types:

| Old alias                 | New type                  |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| `ProviderDiscoveryOrder`  | `ProviderCatalogOrder`    |
| `ProviderDiscoveryContext`| `ProviderCatalogContext`  |
| `ProviderDiscoveryResult` | `ProviderCatalogResult`   |
| `ProviderPluginDiscovery` | `ProviderPluginCatalog`   |

The aliases and legacy `ProviderCapabilities` static bag have been
removed. Provider plugins
should use explicit provider hooks such as `buildReplayPolicy`,
`normalizeToolSchemas`, and `wrapStreamFn` rather than a static object.

resolveThinkingProfile"> Old (three separate hooks on ProviderThinkingPolicy): isBinaryThinking(ctx), supportsXHighThinking(ctx), and resolveDefaultThinkingLevel(ctx).

**New**: a single `resolveThinkingProfile(ctx)` that returns a
`ProviderThinkingProfile` with the canonical `id`, optional `label`, and a
ranked level list. Apus downgrades stale stored values by profile rank
automatically.

The context includes `provider`, `modelId`, optional merged `reasoning`,
and optional merged model `compat` facts. Provider plugins can use those
catalog facts to expose a model-specific profile only when the configured
request contract supports it.

Implement one hook instead of three. The legacy hooks have been removed.

contracts.externalAuthProviders"> Old: implementing external auth hooks without declaring the provider in the plugin manifest.

**New**: declare `contracts.externalAuthProviders` in the plugin manifest
**and** implement `resolveExternalAuthProfiles(...)`.

```json
{
  "contracts": {
    "externalAuthProviders": ["anthropic", "openai"]
  }
}
```

setup.providers[].envVars"> Old manifest field: providerAuthEnvVars: { anthropic: ["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"] }.

**New**: mirror the same env-var lookup into `setup.providers[].envVars`
on the manifest. This consolidates setup/status env metadata in one place
and avoids booting the plugin runtime just to answer env-var lookups.

`providerAuthEnvVars` is no longer accepted.

registerMemoryCapability"> Old: three separate calls - api.registerMemoryPromptSection(...), api.registerMemoryFlushPlan(...), api.registerMemoryRuntime(...).

**New**: one call on the memory-state API -
`registerMemoryCapability(pluginId, { promptBuilder, flushPlanResolver, runtime })`.

Same slots, single registration call. Additive prompt and corpus helpers
(`registerMemoryPromptSupplement`, `registerMemoryCorpusSupplement`) are
not affected.

**Old**: `api.registerMemoryEmbeddingProvider(...)` plus
`contracts.memoryEmbeddingProviders`.

**New**: `api.registerEmbeddingProvider(...)` plus
`contracts.embeddingProviders`.

The generic embedding provider contract is reusable outside memory and is
the supported path for every provider. The memory-specific registration API
and manifest contract were removed after the **2026-08-21** migration
deadline.

OutboundDeliveryResult"> Old: return { ok, messageId, error } through ChannelSendRawResult and normalize it with createRawChannelSendResultAdapter(...).

**New**: return `OutboundDeliveryResult` fields and attach the channel with
`createAttachedChannelResultAdapter(...)`. Failed sends should throw instead
of returning an error string. Put the platform destination in
`target: { kind: "chat" | "channel" | "room" | "conversation", id }`;
the old parallel `chatId`, `channelId`, `roomId`, and `conversationId`
result fields are no longer accepted. The raw result type remains available
until the next plugin-SDK major release.

Two legacy type aliases still exported from `src/extensibility/plugins/runtime/types.ts`:

| Old                           | New                             |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| `SubagentReadSessionParams`   | `SubagentGetSessionMessagesParams` |
| `SubagentReadSessionResult`   | `SubagentGetSessionMessagesResult` |

The runtime method `readSession` is deprecated in favor of
`getSessionMessages`. Same signature; the old method calls through to the
new one.

The SQLite session/transcript flip removes or deprecates plugin-facing APIs
that exposed active `sessions.json` stores, JSONL transcript paths, or lists
of session files. Runtime plugins should use session identity and SDK runtime
helpers instead of resolving or mutating active files.

| Migrating surface | Replacement |
| ----------------- | ----------- |
| Removed `loadSessionStore(...)` and `resolveSessionStoreEntry(...)`, including package-root `loadSessionStore(...)` | `getSessionEntry(...)` for one scoped row or `listSessionEntries(...)` for scoped iteration from `apus/plugin-sdk/session-store-runtime`. |
| Removed `updateSessionStore(...)`, package-root `saveSessionStore(...)`, and SDK file-store writes | `patchSessionEntry(...)`, `upsertSessionEntry(...)`, and `deleteSessionEntry(...)` from `apus/plugin-sdk/session-store-runtime`; mutate only the intended rows instead of replacing a detached whole-store snapshot. |
| Removed `LoadSessionStoreOptions` and `UpdateSessionStoreOptions` | Parameters accepted by the scoped row APIs; the whole-store cache and callback options no longer apply. |
| Removed `resolveSessionFilePath(...)` | Session identity (`agentId`, `sessionKey`, and `sessionId`) with `apus/plugin-sdk/session-transcript-runtime`, or Gateway methods that operate on the current session. |
| Removed `resolveSessionTranscriptPathInDir(...)` and `resolveAndPersistSessionFile(...)` | Session identity and Gateway methods that operate on the current session. |
| `readLatestAssistantTextFromSessionTranscript(...)` | Identity-backed transcript readers exposed by the current runtime context, or Gateway history/session methods when the plugin is outside the transcript owner path. |
| `SessionTranscriptUpdate.sessionFile` | `SessionTranscriptUpdate.target` with `agentId`, `sessionKey`, and `sessionId`. |
| Memory sync inputs such as `sessionFiles` | Identity-backed transcript/session sources provided by the host; do not crawl active JSONL files for live sessions. |
| Runtime options named `transcriptPath` or `sessionFile` for active sessions | `sessionTarget`/runtime target objects that carry storage-neutral session identity. |

Legacy JSONL transcript files remain valid as import, archive, export, and
support artifacts. They are no longer the steady-state runtime contract for
active sessions.

The official `@openclaw/codex` and `@openclaw/feishu` plugins released with
`v2026.7.1-beta.5` imported the retired bridge. SDK-owner approval on
September 30, 2026 closed its compatibility window early, replacing the
former October 12 deadline. The supported-plugin cutoff excludes that
release and any other package still importing the
bridge. Upgrade affected plugins to versions using the replacements before
upgrading Apus. A newer version number alone is not evidence of migration.

`apus/plugin-sdk/session-store-runtime` and `resolveStorePath(...)`
remain supported. Pass the selected `agentId` explicitly to scoped row
operations; resolving a path no longer records an agent selection for a
later whole-store call. This removal does not change SQLite schemas or
legacy-state import and Doctor migrations.

`apus plugins inspect --all --runtime` reports non-bundled plugins whose
load errors or diagnostics still reference these removed file APIs. The
`@openclaw/plugin-inspector` advisory sweep must use version `0.3.17` or
newer so external package scans also flag whole-store session helpers,
session file-path helpers, legacy transcript file targets, and low-level
transcript helpers before release.

V2 host-capability contract"> New or updated harness plugins should implement AgentHarnessV2 and use AgentHarnessAttemptParamsV2, EmbeddedRunAttemptParamsV2, or AgentHarnessSideQuestionParamsV2. The V2 parameter types require hostCapabilities, matching what core supplies at the selected-harness boundary. A plugin that adopts these V2 contracts must declare apus.compat.pluginApi: ">=2026.8.1" (or a newer floor) in its package manifest so an older host rejects the plugin before loading it.

Existing plugins may continue implementing `AgentHarness` and constructing
the legacy `AgentHarnessAttemptParams`, `EmbeddedRunAttemptParams`, or
`AgentHarnessSideQuestionParams` types without that field through
2026-10-12. Those contracts keep the capability optional only for source
compatibility; they do not create a capability-free runtime path. Migrate
by changing the imported type name and binding tool or native-action surfaces through
`params.hostCapabilities`.

The Tasks registry and TaskFlow orchestration APIs have been removed,
including `api.runtime.tasks`, `registerDetachedTaskRuntime`, and the
`agent-harness-task-runtime` SDK subpath. No compatibility facade remains.
Use native subagent launch/wait/history APIs, cron run history, and the
ordinary Lobster runner for their respective operations. Harness completion
routing uses the completion-only `agent-harness-completion` subpath.
This removal does not change the physical database schemas. Existing
`task_runs`, `task_delivery_state`, and `flow_runs` tables, columns, and indexes
remain unchanged. Cron reads and writes only its `runtime = 'cron'` history
rows in `task_runs`; non-Cron Task and TaskFlow rows remain untouched and
unused by the runtime. The Codex plugin's
[Doctor migration](/gateway/doctor/config-migrations#native-codex-recovery-after-tasks-removal)
preserves eligible owner-stamped native recovery facts in existing parent
binding metadata, leaving source rows byte-identical. It adds no runtime Task
reader or replacement SDK surface; current requester authority still governs
completion delivery. See the [versioning contract](/reference/database-schemas/versioning).

agent tool-result middleware"> Covered in How to migrate. Included here for completeness: the removed embedded-runner-only api.registerEmbeddedExtensionFactory(...) path is replaced by api.registerAgentToolResultMiddleware(...) with an explicit runtime list in contracts.agentToolResultMiddleware.

ApusConfig"> The ApusSchemaType root-SDK alias was removed. Use the canonical ApusConfig name.

```typescript
// Before
import type { ApusSchemaType } from "apus/plugin-sdk";
// After
import type { ApusConfig } from "apus/plugin-sdk/config-contracts";
```